We look back at some of my attempts this year to tell the truth. Here's our show:
GOVERNMENT WASTE: Politicians say the budget is already "cut to the bone" but they spent nearly $4 trillion this year. That's not bone! Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) retires from Congress soon, which means we will have to bust the politicians' myths without him.
CHILD LABOR: We're told sweatshops are cruel. But "Out of Poverty" author Ben Powell says if we really want to help people climb out of poverty, let them work!
PORN TO PAY TUITION: Duke University Student "Belle Knox" became a porn star to pay her $60K tuition. When my interview with Knox first aired, many viewers objected, saying I shouldn't condone women "enslaving themselves." But Knox is no slave. She chooses to use her body to make money. She's an adult, and what she does with her body should be her choice.
PESSIMISM PORN: The media's dire predictions are almost always wrong. The "experts" in the 70s said the population explosion was unstoppable. Famine was inevitable. Pesticides were going to shorten our lives. Bird flu was going to kill us. The Ice Age was coming back. Acid rain was killing forests. The Y2K computer bug would destroy the economy. Journalist Matt Ridley explains that things have been getting better.
CLIMATE CHANGE VS. CLIMATE CATASTROPHE: "The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels" author Alex Epstein points out that climate change deaths are at a record low. Fossil fuels save lives.
BIG LOVE: Gay marriage is now more accepted, but why stop there? If you own your own body, why can't you marry two people? Or six? I invited a polygamist family onto the show.
WHY THE "SCHTICK?" Several times this year, I humiliated myself by putting on costumes.
Why? What we report is often complex, or abstract. I'll use any gimmick to try to explain the ideas.
MY TAKE: This year government passed thousands of new laws as usual. Some companies like Uber, Airbnb and EatWith have found ways to dodge the oppressive
